Urogenital schistosomiasis transmission, malaria and anemia among school-age children in Northern Ghana
Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, co-morbidity with malaria, schistosomiasis, and soil transmitted helminths (STH) is common among young children. The current study investigated malaria, urinary schistosomiasis and their co-infection and anemia among school-age children in an endemic community, Nak...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022017285 |
| _version_ | 1811180907885756416 |
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| author | Sylvester Dassah Gideon K. Asiamah Valentine Harun Kwaku Appiah-Kubi Abraham Oduro Victor Asoala Lucas Amenga-Etego |
| author_facet | Sylvester Dassah Gideon K. Asiamah Valentine Harun Kwaku Appiah-Kubi Abraham Oduro Victor Asoala Lucas Amenga-Etego |
| author_sort | Sylvester Dassah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, co-morbidity with malaria, schistosomiasis, and soil transmitted helminths (STH) is common among young children. The current study investigated malaria, urinary schistosomiasis and their co-infection and anemia among school-age children in an endemic community, Nakolo in the Kassena-Nankana East District of northern Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 336 school-age children, 5–16 years was undertaken. Urine samples were examined for Schistosoma haematobium ova using microscopy. Finger prick blood samples were examined for Plasmodium parasites using microscopy and haemoglobin concentration measured with HemoCue Hb301 photometer. Results: The mean age was 10.52 (Standard deviation: ±2.27; range: 5–16 years), of which 50.6% (170/336) were males. The overall prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis and Plasmodium (P.) falciparum was 12.8% (43/336) and 37.8% (127/336), respectively with 6.0% (20/336) coinfection. Participants with only P. falciparum infection had 17.8% (19/107) of moderate anemia whilst 21.7% (5/23) of children infected with only S. haematobium had moderate anemia and 4.3% (1/23) had severe anemia. 5.0 % (1/20) of moderate anemia was observed in concurrent infections of P. falciparum and S. haematobium. Use of open water bodies was associated with increased risk of S. haematobium infection (OR = 1.21; 95% CI = [1.06–1.39]; p = 0.001), with females being at reduced risk (OR = 0.93; 95%CI = [0.87–0.99]; p = 0.005). Absence of self-reported haematuria had 0.81 times reduced odds of S. haematobium infection (OR = 0.81; 95%CI = [0.74–0.87]; p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study has revealed that urinary schistosomiasis remains prevalent in Kassena-Nankana East district and suggests that urinary schistosomiasis may contribute to moderate anemia among school-age children as compared to asymptomatic malaria infection. These findings call for an evaluation of the annual mass drug administration of Praziquantel among in-school children to ascertain its impact on urinary schistosomiasis prevalence across the district. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:10:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b4103857fe8d41238b66dae77745281a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:10:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-b4103857fe8d41238b66dae77745281a2022-12-22T04:32:31ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402022-09-0189e10440Urogenital schistosomiasis transmission, malaria and anemia among school-age children in Northern GhanaSylvester Dassah0Gideon K. Asiamah1Valentine Harun2Kwaku Appiah-Kubi3Abraham Oduro4Victor Asoala5Lucas Amenga-Etego6Department of Biomedical Sciences, Navrongo Health Research Centre, Navrongo, Ghana; Department of Biochemistry and Forensic Sciences, C. K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Navrongo, GhanaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Navrongo Health Research Centre, Navrongo, Ghana; Department of Applied Biology, University for Development Studies, Navrongo, GhanaDepartment of Applied Biology, University for Development Studies, Navrongo, GhanaDepartment of Applied Biology, C. K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Navrongo, GhanaDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Navrongo Health Research Centre, Navrongo, GhanaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Navrongo Health Research Centre, Navrongo, GhanaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Navrongo Health Research Centre, Navrongo, Ghana; West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana; Corresponding author.Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, co-morbidity with malaria, schistosomiasis, and soil transmitted helminths (STH) is common among young children. The current study investigated malaria, urinary schistosomiasis and their co-infection and anemia among school-age children in an endemic community, Nakolo in the Kassena-Nankana East District of northern Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 336 school-age children, 5–16 years was undertaken. Urine samples were examined for Schistosoma haematobium ova using microscopy. Finger prick blood samples were examined for Plasmodium parasites using microscopy and haemoglobin concentration measured with HemoCue Hb301 photometer. Results: The mean age was 10.52 (Standard deviation: ±2.27; range: 5–16 years), of which 50.6% (170/336) were males. The overall prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis and Plasmodium (P.) falciparum was 12.8% (43/336) and 37.8% (127/336), respectively with 6.0% (20/336) coinfection. Participants with only P. falciparum infection had 17.8% (19/107) of moderate anemia whilst 21.7% (5/23) of children infected with only S. haematobium had moderate anemia and 4.3% (1/23) had severe anemia. 5.0 % (1/20) of moderate anemia was observed in concurrent infections of P. falciparum and S. haematobium. Use of open water bodies was associated with increased risk of S. haematobium infection (OR = 1.21; 95% CI = [1.06–1.39]; p = 0.001), with females being at reduced risk (OR = 0.93; 95%CI = [0.87–0.99]; p = 0.005). Absence of self-reported haematuria had 0.81 times reduced odds of S. haematobium infection (OR = 0.81; 95%CI = [0.74–0.87]; p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study has revealed that urinary schistosomiasis remains prevalent in Kassena-Nankana East district and suggests that urinary schistosomiasis may contribute to moderate anemia among school-age children as compared to asymptomatic malaria infection. These findings call for an evaluation of the annual mass drug administration of Praziquantel among in-school children to ascertain its impact on urinary schistosomiasis prevalence across the district.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022017285Urogenital schistosomiasisSchistosoma haematobiumMalariaAnemiaNorthern Ghana |
| spellingShingle | Sylvester Dassah Gideon K. Asiamah Valentine Harun Kwaku Appiah-Kubi Abraham Oduro Victor Asoala Lucas Amenga-Etego Urogenital schistosomiasis transmission, malaria and anemia among school-age children in Northern Ghana Heliyon Urogenital schistosomiasis Schistosoma haematobium Malaria Anemia Northern Ghana |
| title | Urogenital schistosomiasis transmission, malaria and anemia among school-age children in Northern Ghana |
| title_full | Urogenital schistosomiasis transmission, malaria and anemia among school-age children in Northern Ghana |
| title_fullStr | Urogenital schistosomiasis transmission, malaria and anemia among school-age children in Northern Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urogenital schistosomiasis transmission, malaria and anemia among school-age children in Northern Ghana |
| title_short | Urogenital schistosomiasis transmission, malaria and anemia among school-age children in Northern Ghana |
| title_sort | urogenital schistosomiasis transmission malaria and anemia among school age children in northern ghana |
| topic | Urogenital schistosomiasis Schistosoma haematobium Malaria Anemia Northern Ghana |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022017285 |
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